Nature’s Giants

We drove through the Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt County, stopping whenever we wanted to walk through the woods and explore. Whether the trees were standing or had fallen, their massive sizes left us awestruck. The tallest tree we saw on our trip was “Giant Tree”, which is 363 feet tall (111m) and has a circumference of 53 feet (16m). To put that in perspective, a football field is 360 feet long (including the end zones).

Walking amongst the giants, I got a sense of how awesome God is. These trees have been on this earth for hundreds and hundreds of years. Some of the oldest were growing when Jesus walked the earth. They have quietly stood the test of time. Peace and wonder almost overwhelmed me and I became completely engrossed in this otherworld that I had the privilege of being a part of for a short time. They have so many stories and secrets to tell. Maybe that’s why I was quietly and reverently winding my way through the paths. Would they give anything away? I left their sanctuary not smarter, but wiser perhaps.

The girl in the picture below is my then seven-year old daughter. You can also see my husband. Use them as a reference point to get a sense of how massive these trees are. And these are not record holders.

The original was too cool for the feeling I was going for. I warmed up the picture and increased the clarity.  I decreased the contrast, exposure, highlights and lightened the shadows. I used a graduated filter on the bottom third of the photo to bring the exposure up just a little, to get a little more detail in the bark. I finished with a small vignette. Here’s the original:

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